Demolition begins at Bible Baptist

The original sanctuary building at Bible Baptist Church in Mt. Orab is coming down.
The building caught fire on April 10 and is being demolished to make room for a new building at the church.
Pastor Ted House said the cause of the fire was electrical in nature and that it began in the attic.
He said the total cost of the fire, demolition and the new building will be a very significant amount, all of it to be paid by insurance.
House said that the new building is expected to be completed by Easter of next year, which is approximately one year from the date of the fire.
“It will be a steel building. We are going to put the chapel back in there, the fellowship hall back in there along with Sunday School and church offices,” House said.
The demolition project will take approximately two weeks. House said that the chuch will be holding a groundbreaking ceremony in July before the new construction begins.
House said that the decision to demolish rather than repair the building was difficult but necessary.
“It was an emotional decision because of the history of the building. But because of the damage from the smoke, the water and fire, there really was no other option than to demolish it,” House said.
“The Lord has been very good to us and we feel very blessed. Things have been going very smoothly and we are grateful for that.”
He added that congregation members are seeing the developments as a long term blessing for the church.
“They are excited about the future. I’ve been telling them that the best view of the future is to stand on the shoulders of the past. We are excited about building a new building that will create history and memories in the new building for generations to come,” House said.
The Mt. Orab Fire Department along with nine other departments were called out the night of April 10 after a passerby called in a report of flames coming out of the roof of the church.
About 60 firefighters battled the flames until about 3:30 a.m.
At the time of the fire, House expressed his thanks to all of the fire departments and firefighters that helped fight the fire and contain it to one building.
He extended the same thanks June 22 when talking about the new building that would soon be built.